✧REPAIR✧

❦❦❦|♕♕♕

◊━━━━━✥━━━━━◊

***

Aria didn't know what to think, how to think—How to act, and all throughout the meeting with Rabastan and his father, she couldn't look at him.

"Ari? Are you feeling alright?" She shook her head, no. She wasn't. She felt nauseous and damn near close to passing out in her chair now that she caught his attention that didn't require a work-related.

"No, I think I need to lie down...Leave whatever we didn't finish, I can check it later. Feel free to stay." Rabastan had attempted to catch her before she walked off, but his father beckoned him to remain.

"But father—"
"If she isn't feeling her best then it's probably wise to give her a few minutes, she's prideful. As I will be when the time comes I'm stricken ill."
"But I don't think it's curable what she has, whatever it is that she isn't telling me. Why won't she tell me?" The father remained silent for a moment, shaking his heads as he withheld the information he knew.

Though he didn't make it obvious that there was more to the story, of course, he knew she was ill...Just the severity was much worse than Rabastan could imagine and it was one of the reasons why marriage wasn't an option at the moment.

Perhaps if she receives a cure then she'd be on her way to the alter.

"I suppose you'll stay here then?" His father dwelled as he rose up to his feet, and Rabastan quickly nodded and went to look over another assignment. Giving Aria another few minutes alone.

"If she asks you to leave again, don't be difficult."
"I can't just leave her alone. If Wyatt was here then I wouldn't worry as much but he's—"
"He's not here, and a peaceful night's rest is what she deserves. I'll see you soon, son." With that, Rabastan awaited on the count of five minutes before ordering a tea for her.

With the delivery now, he didn't hesitate to ditch his work and deliver the tray. Course he left it on her bed when he heard the violent sound of her throwing up in her bathroom.

"Gods, Ari!" He beckoned, falling down beside her and aiding her to get her hair out from her face. His hand soothed her back, but she pulled his hand away with one final spit in the toilet. "I thought I said goodnight."
"No, you didn't. And I'm inclined to stay. Especially when you can hardly hover over the toilet." She attempted to get out of his hold, huffing in damnation that she was too weak to do much more.

"No use love, and I'm not going to rest at home knowing I could be at your side." He deemed, and that certainly earned him a glare. "Rather adorable when you're cheeks are that flushed...Now I'm going to start up the tub so you can get cleaned up and then, I think I'm going to read to you so you fall asleep easier." She wanted to hate him, she wanted to curse him out. But the fact that she didn't ask for him to do this, or ask him to stay caused her to cry further.

"Love, it's alright...Tomorrow we'll go to Saint Mungos if you're still feeling shitty." After that comment, Rabastan held onto his word. Yet as her eyes trained on him, she felt the revolt of her stomach.

Did he know what he even did?

Right here and now, while he read one of her favorite stories as a child...Did he know that this was the copy that she kept from her time from the Orphanage?

The one that was a graveyard now, a burned down and demolished structure—Goddess she couldn't process the reality of the situation.

She realized that it wasn't about picking a side, if she committed to Order—Her relationship with Rabastan would be no more. It was mainly the reason that she hadn't done a majority of things. Had she not been a Black heir, perhaps it would've been easier to fight against this, but now knowing the majority of the Death Eaters by first name—Befriending Avery and McNair.
She realized that it was going to be a lot of work convincing them otherwise.

To betray their childhood teachings, to show her the good in what the Dark Lord painted as damning and targetable.

So the best place to start was to gather information.
That's what the Ravenclaw in her was screaming at her to do, so coming the following day in the facility. She managed to catch up in record time, especially since the Slytherin in Avery had managed to slither through the hoops and made the leaps when necessary.

"Wanna get drinks?—Oh. I guess 'Bas won't be too happy on the front aye?"
"Unfortunately my choice of drinks right now is limited to tea, water, and my tonics. Though if you want to get drinks I think we'll have to invite him." Avery saw no mind in that, especially when Aria had seemed rather bubbly that entire day.

"I had a question for you." She bustled, speaking her mind out before she could retract her plan.
"Course boss...What's up?" He questioned, dropping into her chair and swirling around before propping up his feet on the desk—Mindful to not touch her documents.

However when she remained silent he cleared his throat and rose up from the seat as it was truly hers. "Er, forget I did that."
"Don't think I don't see you doing it before, it's fine. Do you know what Rabastan was doing the 10th?" Avery had tilted his head and looked off towards the wall calendar, until a breath rolled in.

He knew.

"He wasn't betraying you or your promise if that's what you're worried about. I was with him that night." She had already reached for her purse and pulled out the paper that gave her nightmares deep in the night.

And she couldn't tell if it was Rabastan's presence that aided them or not.

Avery had taken one look at the newspaper and turned away. "Aria don't start with this—"
"Look at the address." She said, her eyes daring him to respond, and so he scanned the article and huffed.

"Some crap manor in Stonewallow. Look Ari, 'Bas—"
"Was this his idea?" 

"His...Of course it was, we don't follow Radolphous and his excursions. And I might as well sign my will right now telling you all this."
"Do you know why?"
"Why?...You want me to ask—To ask the Dark Lord why?!" They were barely an inch apart, whispering loudly and Avery huffed as he sent a spell to silence the room from outside ears to listen in.

"Look Ari, don't go asking Rabastan this bullshite. He can't say no like McNair and I can. It's not worth the aggravation, alright?"
"Aggravation?! Avery you are blindly following a crazy dictator!" He couldn't understand what snapped in Aria Crawford, not until she pointing her finger up at the title.

He hadn't truly bothered to read the article when McNair summarized it fairly well. The muggles in the area had been in sheer distress and it was a rather joyful laugh.

"I know you have a heart Avery, and your job is not on the line when it comes to disagreements between either of us. But god forbid I did let Wyatt visit his mates back at Stonewall's Fountain of Angels Orphanage. And I'm bloody glad that he doesn't read the Prophet." The color in Avery's face had continued to trickle the further Aria had spoke.

"So he didn't know it was the Orphanage I was left at?" Avery could only shake his head, gulping as he prepared for how this would bite both his and Rabastan's arse.
"He was looking for anything to see who dropped me off at the Orphanage..." She breathed in recognition and Avery could only nod.

"That was our task, we didn't target the children—We didn't anyway. And we needed to find the headmistress' office and search for something, but we weren't given the task other than to secure the building." Aria explained to Avery that there wasn't anything left of her there, not since she had been adopted.

The only problem is that Wyatt's papers were now no longer an option for him to search for. And sure Avery felt guilty, but now he had to be the one to tell Rabastan what happened earlier this month.

So while Aria had gone home, Avery had gone off to the Lestrange manor. Knowing full well this was something much too important against Aria that both Rabastan and his father needed to know.

He'd caught Clarissa in the hallway, and sure it had been a polite hello and a kiss to the cheek. He absolutely hated that this was the woman who caused Aria so much aggravation and pain. And while she hadn't said it outloud, but if she had been vocally angry—Then Rabastan would have known his mother's action, sure that would've been grand. But Aria hated the drama, and it was easier to silently punish someone than bring in the whole family to deal with it.

And ultimately, the Black family would decimate the Lestranges.

That was putting it lightly.

Knocking on the door, he was instantly greeted with a shout and the whiff of the impending cloud of cigar smoke. He'd have to remind Rabastan to clear that scent if he was going to go and visit Aria this night.

"Avery, my boy...Care to join us for a celebratory smoke?" With his nose filled with potion galore, he realized that it left an acidic taste on the back of his mouth. Forcing him to shake his head.

"We have a bit of a problem." That certainly caused the Lestrange men to sit straighter, if the lawyers liked anything—It was solving a problem.

"What type of problem?"
"Aria asked where you were the night of the 10th." He offered, and Radolphous didn't hesitate to glare at his son. Could the lad really be that stupid to cheat?
After everything?

"Then tenth...That was Saturday, wasn't it? I was with you and the rest of the—"
"Yes. She knows that, but it's what we were doing." Avery claimed, throwing down the borrowed daily prophet and Radolphous had instantly choked on his smoke as he looked at the name.

Having been the one to drop Aria off, the name of the Orphanage had been burned into the back of his mind for ages.

It was Rabastan that had been left out of the conversation, so he leaned forward to get a look at the article—Though his father turned it over just a moment after. "Is she angry?"
"That the Orphanage that doomed her is burned to a crisp? Or that her previous Mistress that beat her is dead?... I don't think anyone could be angry at that. Even a Hufflepuff—But speaking of Hufflepuff, any identification of the lad is gone. That and she's worried about the children, course I think she rectified it already." Rabastan's eyes burned at the front page, he remembered joking with his mates on how awful the building was.

How muggles were disgusting.

Yet now he couldn't stomach the idea of little Rory having been left there alone, with a blank slate of a mind to fend for herself.

To get beaten for something that she couldn't control.

"What possessed you to leave her there, there of all place?"
"It was the nicest of the lot I scoped out, we were running out of time. Cassiopeia's birthday was about to pass and—"
"And nothing, gods the place didn't even have a proper roof!" It had been the saddest realization that Radolphous had been reminded of what else there was that scarred the young Ravenclaw.

The room had been silent, ever so silent after Rabastan had let out his outburst. But Avery wasn't finished. "The Dark Lord is looking for information about Aria." And that settled Rabastan's last straw as he held his head in his hands.

"Great...Fucking brilliant. Was there anything left?"
"Not that Aria could think of, everyone knew that she was a Roswell and then turned into Crawford. And we both know the Dark Lord isn't interested in America. Had he found out Aria is a Black daughter though..." Avery dwelled to his mate's question, "We'll need to be on our best behavior then, I don't intend to make an enemy of the Dark Lord. And we'll do our best to keep Aria from that. Course it'd aid the entirety if you put a ring on her finger."

"That's enough of that father, did you need anything else? I need to make sure she's alright." Avery chuckled and shook his head. "She's out."
"Bullshite." He grumbled and Avery shrugged his shoulders as he watched his mate storm out of the room. Leaning forward he took his unfinished drink and tilted it forward.

"I want them married as much as you do, especially if Ari is as sick as I think she is. But it's rubbing off on him."
"How so?" Avery scoffed as he filled himself another glass.

"Other than offering to get married about a dozen times or so this year? I'd say she's numb to the grand gesture."
"You're saying he needs to do a grander gesture?"
"No. I'm saying he needs to back off with it and give it a break, but of course, he's obsessed—And Ari does need a positive right now."
"Rabastan mentioned she was sick the other day?"
"When isn't she? I'm only on her emergency contacts list but that doesn't allow me to know everything. Believe me, I've tried it already." The grim look between the two could only suggest what was happening at the Crawford manor.

And it had been the calling of her elf's panic that caught Aria out of her tranquil swim. The water had been heated to the point of steaming, and Aria didn't bother dressing—As she didn't want nor expect any guests.

"Mistress Ari! Mister Lestrange is running to find you, can I tell him where to find you?" The elf had been downright panic and she groaned.
"I suppose, yeah. Tell him I'm in the pool and don't want visitors tonight... Good evening Rabastan, can I help you?" She called out, seeing him opening the pool house's door and hurrying inside.

"You're manor is too damn big! I've run up and down those stairs knowing you're home!" Aria wanted to say that he can for sure leave with that attitude, but seeing him drop to his knees beside the pool's edge, leaving her to swim towards him. Wiping the water droplets down her face she smiled in greeting.

"Avery told me—"
"Yes. Please don't talk about it any more than that." It was a bothering topic and Rabastan didn't cart her any further, instead, she swam up just a bit to lay a kiss on his lips. And the fellow didn't hesitate to throw off his jacket and the rest of his clothes.

"No clothes in my pool Rabastan, those are the rules." He let out a scoff as he stripped further and Aria flickered her eyes down to his cock as she watched him walk down the steps to join her.

"Rather awful of me to ask if you're alright?"
"I'm more worried about Wyatt, he still writes and sends those kids gifts and such. Of course I do too, but it's no more." Rabastan remained silent with a kind smile, she didn't want to talk about it and he wouldn't so he leaned down at his full height and kissed her forehead.

"Would you like some company tonight?"
"That depends if you have to leave early in the morning or not. Because my healer wants me to sleep."
"Then we'll sleep in and then eat a hearty lunch when we get up, won't we?" The light smile had returned to Aria's face, the calm glow that was provided by his presence, and the soothing warmth of the water.

Yes, she could say she was happy and content.

◇──◇────◇────◇──◇

Date Posted: 06-06-2021

Time: 12:05

Words: 2777

We've made it to the 100th chapter! Thank you so much support in Aria's story thus far, I plan on (hopefully) trying to finish writing it this summer and posting it before Christmas.

Thank you for the patience as I try to battle out the rest of my bachelor's degree.

What do you all wish to see for Aria and Rabastan?